Hearts and Spades
by HeroxPartnerfan96
Summary: A young girl who dreams of being royalty may get her chance when news gets out of a young prince looking for a wife. JulienxOC
1. Separate Beginnings

**Hearts and Spades**

**Characters and Profiles**

**Julia: **The gentle and kind heroine, Julia has dreams of being royalty even though she is only a common person. However she may get her chance when she hears of a young prince seeking a wife...

**Prince Julien: **Julien is the next heir to the throne, but there is one problem; he wants to marry someone he truly loves. When an unexpected princess comes, Julien sees who he wants, but he may not know the truth about her...

**Maurice: **Maurice is a long time friend of Julien. As one of the two candidates for being right hand man, Maurice is very supportive and not afraid to do the right thing, and may prove this when Julia comes...

**Brad: **The other candidate for right hand man, Brad is the opposite of Maurice. While Maurice believes in doing what is right, Brad only looks for the best and shows suspicion towards Julia when she comes. While he may be right, he could also be wrong as well...

**Chapter 1: Separate Beginnings**

A common town lay out in the boundaries of a certain country. In one house, a young female ring-tailed lemur was looking out at the home she lived in. "This is what I have always known, but I just never feel happy with it. I'm not sure why, but I always have the feeling that I'm looking for something more." she said. The young lemur's name was Julia, and she had dreams; those dreams were to be something more than what she was familiar with.

That night, Julia was in her room and she pulled back the wrecked but stable curtain to see the castle out in the distance. Julia sighed; this was what she wanted to be.

"This is what I want. I want the chance to experience what it's like to be royalty, even if it isn't very long. I'm sure they don't have any problems, at least not the ones I experience." Julia said to herself, and sat down on her old desk chair, wondering when she would get her opportunity.

If Prince Julien heard Julia say that being royalty didn't have problems, he would have thought that she wasn't being serious. He was going to next on the throne, but there was one huge issue; he didn't take a liking to any of the princesses he was shown. As he sat in his room, an aye-aye, Maurice came in. Maurice was also Julien's close friend and they had known each other for a long time.

"I don't understand what the problem is. I can understand not liking first choice, but don't you think this is going a bit too far?" Maurice asked, as Julien turned around to see him. Julien sighed; he knew that he was difficult, but he had a good reason for that.

"If I do want to go through with this, I want it to be with someone I can truly love, Maurice." Julien explained. Maurice sighed; he was one of the two candidates to be Julien's right hand man, the other being a new arrival named Brad. Maurice sat down beside Julien as the young prince looked out at the starry night sky.

"Are you sure that the right one you're looking for is out there?" Maurice asked. "I can be sure of that, Maurice. I know that there is definitely someone for me, and I'm sure that they would come to me instead of me having to go to them." Julien responded. Maurice nodded; while he didn't understand Julien sometimes, he couldn't deny that his friend was right.

"You know, I can't help but think that you're right." Maurice said. Julien smiled to hear this. He was however unaware of the fact that the one for him was someone he didn't expect it to be...


	2. How it Starts

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 2: How it Starts**

It was the next day and Julia was heading out for her regular shopping in the market. As she looked around the stalls, she was surprised to see an envelope lying on the ground. As she picked it up, she looked up to see a messenger running around in a hurry. "Excuse me! You dropped this!" Julia called. However, it didn't look like the messenger could hear Julia, because he rushed off without noticing. Noticing this, Julia looked at the envelope to see that there was a red seal on it.

"This looks important. I'd better look at it at home." Julia said to herself. Later up in her room, Julia peeled off the seal and opened the envelope to see that there was an important letter inside. "What's this?" Julia wondered. She took out the letter and read it to herself.

_From the Royal Palace_

_Prince Julien makes a request that all princesses be summoned to the palace for a future queen_

_All princesses are required to come, as this is an urgent matter_

"All princesses? This sounds like what I need!" Julia smiled to herself. But there was one problem; she was a common person, and it didn't seem like she would be let in. But then, she remembered something she always kept in her room. "I was wondering when I would need this." Julia said. It was a crown she made herself; it had pink flower petals on it and a rose in the middle. As she put it on, Julia smiled as she looked at herself in her mirror.

"Now this is what I call princess material! I'm ready to go, and ready to grab my dreams by its figurative hands!" Julia smiled. She headed out of her house and towards the palace, where her dreams awaited.

Meanwhile at the palace, Maurice and Brad were both on their way to see Julien. "Why does Prince Julien find this even necessary? He should just choose who will be able to rule by his side." Brad explained, as Maurice turned to look at him.

"Well, this is how he is. So, I don't think it's right to argue with him." Maurice commented. Brad rolled his eyes in frustration; how he even dealt with Maurice when he had this type of attitude was beyond him. "Well, I just hope he makes the right choice; I wouldn't want to be with someone I can't stand." Brad commented. Maurice had to agree; he was hoping that Julien was doing the right thing.

Once Julia came inside the palace, she was amazed by the size of the place. "This is huge! It's certainly nothing like I thought it would be, but then again I wouldn't have it any other way. I like having my expectations completely changed." Julia smiled to herself. But, she was surprised when she could see a line of females nearby.

"Now, what is this about?" Julia wondered to herself, and headed over to see what was going on. When she came over, she was surprised to see that the line crossed almost an entire hallway. "Excuse me? Could I please be informed of what's going on?" Julia asked a female in front of her. The female turned to see Julia and crossed her arms.

"All the princesses have come to present themselves to Prince Julien. So I suggest you wait for your turn!" The female explained, and turned back around again much to Julia's surprised. But that got Julia asking herself more questions.

"I wonder who this prince is. I hope he's not like those princes I always hear about." Julia said to herself. Inside the room, Maurice and Brad were watching the count on.

"I don't believe this. He's turning down almost every princess that comes forward! He can't be serious!" Brad said, annoyed by this. Maurice had to wonder what the problem with Brad was; he didn't find himself arguing with Julien's decision. "Just wait, Brad. I'm sure that the one he wants is here somewhere." Maurice said. Brad just crossed his arms and sat down in frustration.

As Julia came inside, she was looking down in worry; she wasn't sure of how to deal inside. When she entered, Julien was surprised and started to smile as Julia slowly looked up at him. Maurice was looking on in interest, wondering what would happen while Brad looked on with annoyance.

"Oh, like he'd have anything to do with someone afraid of him like her. He'll most likely want her to leave in an instant." Brad muttered. He was wrong, because Julien kept his eye on Julia the entire time. "Who might you be?" he asked, curious. He hadn't seen anyone like this particular princess before.

"My name is... Princess Julia." Julia responded. Maurice started to smile, while Brad started to grow curious. "I like where this is heading already. I'm starting to think maybe she's who he's looking for!" Maurice said, happily while Brad stared at him confused. Julien started to walk over to Julia and looked at her in interest, while Julia felt a bit nervous the entire time. Julien notice her crown and smiled.

"I have never seen a crown like this before." Julien said, noticing the pink petals and the rose in the middle. Julia smiled and looked up at him. "I made it myself." she responded, which caught Julien by surprise.

"Now, why would a princess make her own crown?" Julien asked, confused. Julia was worried; she was starting to think that he would find out who she was straight away when this was only her first day as royalty. "I guess you could say that I have talents of my own." Julia responded. Julien was surprised, and then he started to smile.

"Oh, I see. You are quite the girl, aren't you? I like it." Julien said. Julia smiled at this comment, and Maurice was smiling as well while Brad was completely confused. "I don't understand it. How could he show interest in a girl like this?" Brad asked himself, confusion and anger mixing at once inside.

"Could I introduce you to Maurice and Brad?" Julien asked. Hearing this, the two both came forward while Julia looked at them in surprise. "Who are these two?" she asked. Maurice was the one to answer that, because he stepped forward to Julia.

"We're the two candidates to be Julien's right hand man; he's trying to choose between me and Brad. And I have to say, it's wonderful to meet you, Princess." Maurice explained. Julia smiled at this comment, while she also had to wonder why Brad wasn't too happy to see her.

"So, would you like to join me for dinner, Princess?" Julien asked. Julia smiled at this. "You can just call me Julia, and I would love to join you. But there is one problem..." Julia said, looking down at herself in worry. Julien was confused at first, but then he smiled.

"Oh, I see. You need to get ready first, don't you? Silly me; I nearly forgot that!" Julien smiled. Julia was delighted; this was turning out better than she thought it would.

"Follow me, Princess. We'll get you something to wear tonight." Maurice said. As Julia followed Maurice, she looked back with a smile to see that Julien was happily smiling at her while Brad looked on at her with a look of outrage. Julia was a bit worried, but it didn't really matter that much; she was finally living out her dreams.


	3. Royal Dinner

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 3: Royal Dinner**

Maurice and Julia both came to a room that was prepared in advance for Julien's future bride. Julia looked around in interest which Maurice notice very quickly. "What is this, Maurice?" Julia asked.

"This will be your room, Princess. Julien flat out said that he wanted this room ready before his princess came, and I know for sure that I wasn't going to argue with him." Maurice explained. Julia was impressed; it really sounded like Julien was someone to have everything ready in advance. She looked at her wardrobe to see that there was a variety of dresses inside.

"It looks like he's also got a sense of fashion, doesn't he?" Julia asked, as she looked at this. Maurice turned to notice and smiled. "That's right. We should get you something, Princess." Maurice said, happily. Julia just smiled at this, noticing that Maurice remembered.

"You can just call me Julia. That is my name, after all." Julia said. "I'll be sure to remember that." Maurice responded, looking up at her. Julia smiled at this response. While Maurice was busy looking, Julia noticed something that got her attention; it was a long, light pink dress in the wardrobe. She took it out and looked at it.

"This looks like it might need some adjustments, then it will be right for tonight." Julia said to herself. She noticed a pair of scissors nearby and had an idea. She got out the scissors and looked over at Maurice. "Could you wait for me, Maurice? I'll be back in a few seconds." Julia said, and went into the bathroom locking the door behind her.

"What are you doing in there?" Maurice asked, knocking on the door. "I'm giving this dress some needed adjustments." Julia responded inside. Maurice decided it better to wait; maybe this couldn't turn out this bad.

In the royal dining room, Brad and Julien were both there waiting for Julia and Maurice. Brad was trying to talk to Julien while he was waiting. "I don't see what it is about this girl that's gotten your attention, Prince Julien. I'm not sure why, but I can't help worrying that she might take advantage of you when you least expect it." Brad explained. Julien looked over at Brad; he did appreciate the worry, but there wasn't any denying what Julien thought.

"Brad, I know that she is the one. I'm not sure why, but she is definitely who I have been looking for." Julien responded. Brad sighed; he certainly knew one thing, and that was that Julien could very difficult when he chose to.

At Julia's bedroom, Maurice was still patiently waiting for Julia to be done in the bathroom. "Okay Maurice, I'm ready!" Julia called. She opened the door to show that she was wearing the dress with adjustments; there were only the straps showing and the bottom had been shortened slightly. Maurice stared at Julia, amazed. "What do you think, Maurice?" Julia asked, twirling to show the dress off to him.

"That is amazing, Julia!" Maurice smiled. Julia happily smiled at this compliment; she couldn't help it knowing he was right. "So, where had Julien gone off to?" Julia asked. Maurice headed out of the bedroom, while Julia followed him; it was time to meet Julien for dinner.

"So, you're really sure about this?" Brad asked. Julien nodded; he was definitely sure about this, and he wasn't going to emphasize that any further than he was now. But then, he looked to see Julia and Maurice coming in, and he was amazed to see Julia wearing a beautiful pink dress while Brad stared in disbelief.

"Julia, you look wonderful." Julien gasped, stunned. Julia happily giggled and blushed. "Thanks, Julien." she responded in delight. With this, Julien happily led Julia to the table and made her comfortable in her seat. As the rest sat down, Julia looked around the giant room impressed.

"This room is huge! It's hard to believe that this place is so much better than I thought it would be." Julia commented. "I think that's the reason why most of the princesses left, because this place wasn't what they thought it was." Maurice said. Julia was surprised; she was wondering why that was the case with them. She was thinking that they didn't know a good place when they saw it.

She looked down at the table and was impressed. "Wow, this is very elaborate! I'm really going to like it here." Julia said. Julien smiled; he was glad that Julia liked this place. Julia looked down at the table to see that her place had been set with different types of cutlery to her surprise.

"What are there so many forks?" she asked, confused. Julien looked up at her and happily laughed, noticing her unfamiliarity. "They're for the entire day." Julien responded. Julia nodded in understanding and looked to see that her dinner was in front of her.

"That was fast." Julia said to herself. But as she lifted her lid, a small mouse lemur lay on the plate. "Hi!" he smiled in a high falsetto voice. Julia was surprised, while Brad and Julien were both alarmed. Maurice on the other hand smiled.

"There you are, Mort! I was looking all over for you." Maurice said, as the young lemur jumped off the table and ran over to him. Julia was surprised and smiled.

"Well, that was unexpected." she commented. "How did you get in there, and what are you doing here?" Brad asked, looking over at Mort.

"I wanted to surprise the new princess when she came here." Mort responded. "Don't do that! You could have given her a heart attack!" Brad responded angrily, at which Mort looked down sadly and Maurice looked at Brad annoyed.

"That's okay, Brad. I have to say, that was quite a nice surprise." Julia said. Julien was surprised; Julia was very calm for being only new here. But he was impressed as well; he was really happy he made the choice for her to be his bride.

That night, Julien went up to Julia's room to see her and was surprised to see that she wasn't there. "Julia? Where are you?" Julien asked, confused. He looked around a bit and noticed Julia standing out on the balcony looking at the night sky. Julien came out and stood next to her.

"There you are, Julia. What are you doing out here?" Julien asked. Julia looked to see him and smiled. "I decided to come out here for a bit of time to myself." Julia responded. Julien looked up with her; this night was definitely a sight, and he could relate to what Julia was telling him.

"Hey, Julien?" Julia asked. "Yes, Julia?" Julien asked in response. "Do you ever wonder what the stars in the night sky are? When I look at them, they always seem to be in pairs. Why is that?" Julia asked.

"When I was young, I was told that those are the eyes of the Sky Spirits looking down on us." Julien responded. Julia was surprised; that sounded unusual to hear this from him.

"You have a very unique way of thinking, don't you?" Julia asked. "Well, that's not what some say of me. They mainly think that I'm just crazy, or out of my mind." Julien responded, looking down as he remembered when anyone would say that about him. Julia was alarmed; why would anyone sat that about him?

"I think those are the people who don't understand the fact that most have their own idea. I think that actually sounds interesting; I might need to hear more about that when I get the time." Julia explained. Julien realized that he wanted to ask Julia something, but he was worried of what she would say.

"Julia, could I ask you something?" Julien asked. "Sure. What is it?" Julia asked, looking over at him. Julien looked down briefly, thinking over how to say this right and then looked at her again.

"How come you seem to be by yourself?" Julien asked. Julia sighed sadly, and looked over at him; this was not going to be easy for her to say.

"I don't remember much about this, but when I was young, my home was attacked by bandits. My parents hid me so I was safe while they tried to fight back. All I remember is damage everywhere, and my parents being stabbed by an armed bandit. It was terrible, and I can never seem to forget it..." Julia whispered, and she started to sob holding her face on her hands. Julien was horrified; he just couldn't imagine something like this happening to such a wonderful girl like Julia.

"Julia... that's terrible. How could that have happened?" Julien asked, shocked.

"I don't know, and I can still never seem to figure it out. I'm left to take care of myself, and I don't want to have a life of loneliness..." Julia said, as tears streamed down her cheeks. Julien could tell that she was incredibly saddened that this happened; he was too, even though that hadn't happened to him.

"You don't have to be alone, Julia. I will always be here for you, and I will take care of you." Julien said, simply. Julia looked up at him in surprise; was she really hearing this?

"Really?" she asked. Julien nodded slowly; that meant he was telling the truth to her. Julia smiled at this; she wiped away her tears and happily hugged Julien. "Thank you so much, Julien." Julia whispered; she was so happy to hear this. Julien smiled to see this, and held Julia close.

"I'm always here to help, Julia." Julien responded. Julia smiled; now she was feeling so happy to be here. She would have someone to love and support her, and for the first time, she felt like she was home.


	4. Day Out

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 4: Day Out**

The next morning, Maurice and Brad had gone to wake Julia up, but noticed that she wasn't answering the door. "What do you think is going on?" Brad asked, looking over at Maurice. Maurice shrugged, so the two went inside and were alarmed to notice that she wasn't there.

"Where did the princess go?" Brad asked. Downstairs, Julia was in the kitchen with Mort. "So Mort, are you ready for breakfast? I'm making it myself this morning." Julia said. Mort smiled, excited. Suddenly, the two could hear Brad coming so Mort hid while Julia looked on at him with a smile.

"Have you seen where Princess Julia is?" Brad asked. Julia was surprised, but smiled; Brad mustn't have noticed that she had come down early. "Good morning, Brad. You're just in time for breakfast." Julia said. Brad was surprised, but then he smiled.

"Oh, it's you, Princess! Sorry about that; I just didn't know where you were." Brad said. "That's okay. I guess you didn't know that I was going to come down early this morning." Julia responded. Julien came in about a second later; Julia turned around to see him and smiled.

"Good morning, Julien! I was about to finish making us breakfast." Julia said. Julien was curious, and looked to see that Julia had just finished making pancakes. Julien smiled to see this, while Brad was just confused.

"I made it myself. Do you like it?" Julia asked. Brad was about to talk before Julien interrupted him; he had a bit himself and smiled. "This is wonderful, Julia! Will you make sure to make this tomorrow morning?" Julien asked. Julia happily nodded at this, while Brad looked on at the two.

"I don't like this. There's something very unusual about Princess Julia, and I would like to find out what it is." Brad said to himself. Sometime later, Julien was looking for Julia when he found her in her room. "Julia?" Julien asked. Julia turned to see him and smiled.

"Hi, Julien. I was looking for you. I was wondering... if you and I could head out to the town for a day and see the sights." Julia said. Julien was surprised by this, and started to look worried about this idea.

"I don't know, Julia. Won't it feel a bit... strange that a prince and a princess would be surrounded by people in the town?" Julien asked, confused. "Not really. I'm actually used to it, so I'm sure that there won't be any problems. What do you say, Julien?" Julia asked. Julien thought about it for a bit, and he couldn't deny that Julia was right. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like she knew what she was talking about.

"Okay, Julia. You're right; let's go." Julien responded. Julia smiled and happily hugged Julien; she was so happy that he accepted. Julien smiled to see that she was happy; what kind of person would he be if he hadn't accepted?

As the two both looked around the town, Julien was very surprised by the fact that everyone recognized Julia. "Everyone knows you, Julia." Julien commented.

"I know. It's no problem for me; I'm used to it out here. I sometimes come out here to have a break from the pressures of royal life." Julia explained. Julien was surprised by this; he could really relate to Julia in a lot of ways. He was amazed by how similar to each other; he knew it was the right choice to choose Julia.

The two both climbed up to the rooftops for a better view of the town. As Julien helped Julia up, she accidently fell in his arms. The two both looked at each other with looks of surprise before Julia got up and dusted herself off. "Sorry about that, Julien." Julia commented. Julien just smiled; he was happy that he got to spend some alone time with Julia.

"So Julia, how often do you come out here?" Julien asked. "I usually come whenever possible. I'm normally busy, so whenever I come out here, I make sure I get some time to myself before heading back." Julia explained. Julien just listened as he followed her; he was wondering how Julia knew so much about things that he had no idea of.

"I want to show you something." Julia said. The two came to a stop and Julien was amazed to see an amazing view of the palace from this place. "Whenever I come out here, this is where I stop so I can just look at where I know I need to be." Julia explained. Julien sat beside Julia as they looked at this; it was really something wonderful.

"You know, Julien, whenever I spend time with you, I'm not sure why, but I don't feel... so alone. I might not have an actual family, but I always feel complete when I'm with you." Julia said. Julien smiled; he could understand where she was going with this.

"Me neither, Julia. I always thought that it was better being alone when I was young, but I guess I proved myself wrong, didn't I?" Julien asked. "Me, too." Julia responded. The two both smiled at each other, and sat close holding each other's hand. They both looked at each other to see that they were both content with each other's company and they just wanted to be alone with one another. But they were interrupted when they looked to see it was Maurice.

"There you are, you two! Brad and I have been looking for you for the whole day. We better head back, otherwise everyone else will wonder where you were." Maurice said. Julien and Julia both smiled at each other, and started to follow Maurice back to the palace. On their way, Julien looked over at Julia.

"We should do this again more often." Julien said. Julia nodded in agreement; she had the same thought as well. The time they spent here may not have been long, but it really seemed that way to them.


	5. What Are Words

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 5: What are Words**

One morning, Julien looked in Julia's bedroom to see her sitting at her mirror brushing her fur. Julien smiled as he watched her on; Julia had really spent a lot of time with him since she came. As he quietly entered her room, Julia looked in her mirror to see him and happily giggled to see him. "Morning, Julien. What are you doing here?" Julia asked, turning around to see him standing beside her.

"I just thought I would come and visit my one and only." Julien responded happily. Julia smiled to hear this; she knew Julien was talking about her. "Julien, how would you feel if I wasn't who you think I am?" Julia asked. Julien was surprised by that question, but thought about it for a moment before he looked at her.

"Julia, if that were true, I would be really upset. I would feel as if you were using me. You would never do that, would you?" Julien asked. Julia shook her head; she would never do something like that to Julien. Julien smiled at this response; he felt happy to know Julia wouldn't do something like that. "That's good. It's just... I would not want to find out if that was true." Julien responded. Julia stood up and turned around to face him and took his hand.

"Julien, if there's something that I know well, it's that I would never lie to those I care about, especially you." Julia said, happily. "How can I be sure?" Julien asked, feeling worried. Julia smiled at his worry, and she put one finger to his lips, silencing him. With that, she started to sing.

_Anywhere you are, I am near_

_Anywhere you go, I'll be there_

_Anytime you whisper my name, you'll see_

_How every single promise I keep_

_Cause what kind of girl would I be_

_If I was to leave when you need me most?_

Julien smiled as he listened; Julia was a wonderful singer. He continued as the two both started to slowly dance together.

_What are words if you really don't mean them when you say them?_

_What are words? If they're only for good times, then they're torn_

_When it's love, yeah you say them out loud those words_

_They never go away_

_They live on, even when we're gone_

_And I know an angel was sent_

_Just for me and I know I'm meant_

_To be where I am and I'm gonna be_

_Standing right beside you tonight_

_And I'm gonna be by your side_

_I would never leave when you need me most_

Julia smiled at this, and the two started to sing in unison as Julien twirled Julia around him.

_What are words if you really don't meant them when you say them?_

_What are words? If they're only for good times, then they're torn_

_When it's love, yeah you say them out loud those words_

_They never go away_

_They live on, even when we're gone_

As the two both danced in a slow circle, Julia started to sing again by herself.

_Anywhere you are, I am near_

_Anywhere you go, I'll be there_

_And I'm gonna be here forever more_

_Every single promise I keep_

_Cause what kind of girl would I be_

_If I was to leave when you need me most?_

The two both smiled at each other, and happily kissed. As Julien started to head out of the room, he looked back to see Julia smiling brightly at him. "Julia, I feel so happy that I decided to be with you. I love you so much." Julien said, happily.

"I love you too, Julien." Julia responded. With this, Julien closed the door leaving Julia by herself. After Julien left, Julia sighed sadly and looked at herself in the reflection. "How long can I keep this up? When will I be able to tell Julien that I'm not really a princess?" Julia asked herself, sadly. However, she was unaware that Brad was outside listening to this.

"So you aren't a princess after all? Well, I'll see to it that you will be out of this place sooner or later!" Brad said, and headed off to think about what his cause of action would be.


	6. Breakout

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 6: Breakout**

That night, Julia was happily asleep in her room. Outside her room, Brad stood at the door looking on at her in the darkness. "So you aren't really a princess, are you? Well, I'll show you how we deal with someone who imposes as one." Brad said to himself. Julia could hear footsteps outside, and turned her bedside lamp on.

"Is someone there?" Julia asked, looking around. "I found out your secret, 'Princess' Julia. You'll see what happens to impostors." A voice said. Julia knew it was familiar, but she couldn't work out where it was coming from.

"Brad, is that you?" Julia asked. She turned around, but before she had a chance to react, everything went black.

That morning, Julien was in his room gently brushing his fur. Julien sighed dreamily; all he could think about was Julia. "Oh, she will be a wonderful queen." Julien smiled, and headed off to Julia's room to wake her up. When he came inside, he was surprised to notice that she wasn't there.

"Julia? Where did you go?" Julien asked. As he looked around, he noticed something lying on Julia's bed. "What's this?" Julien asked; it looked like it was a letter. He unfolded it and read it to himself; he immediately gasped after that.

"Oh, no!" he gasped. Maurice immediately ran inside, having heard Julien from nearby. "What's wrong?" Maurice asked, concerned. Julien immediately showed the letter to Maurice.

"Someone has abducted Julia!" Julien responded. Confused, Maurice looked at the letter and read it out loud.

_To Prince Julia,_

_We have your bride to be captive with us_

_If you follow orders, Princess Julia will not be harmed_

"Who would do such a thing?" Maurice asked, shocked and upset as well now. "I know; I can't work that out, either." Julien responded. Maurice could tell that his long time friend and future king was really upset; he couldn't believe that someone would actually do this.

Sometime later, the two along with Brad were by themselves. "This is unbelievable; it's such an insult!" Brad exclaimed, pacing as Julien watched him on. "We have to do something; Julia could be hurt!" Julien said in worry. Maurice nodded in agreement.

"From what I found out, last night Princess Julia was taken by unknown bandits and they threw her into the dungeon." Brad explained. Julien gasped; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Oh Julia, who would do this to you?" Julien asked, sadly.

Meanwhile, Julia sat up and rubbed her head off. "What happened last night? Where am I?" she asked. She was surprised to notice that she was sitting in an empty room and the door was locked with bars on the window. "What's going on?" Julia asked, confused. She ran up to the door and looked out the bars to see where she was.

"I don't believe this; I'm in the dungeon! But, what did I do to land myself in here?" Julia asked, confused. Then she remembered something; she accidently revealed who she really was last night. "Someone must have heard me, and threw me in here. I guess I deserve this; it serves me right to pretend to be someone I'm not." Julia said, sadly. She sat down on the floor and sighed; why wasn't he honest to begin with?

Meanwhile, Maurice was thinking about what had happened. "Julia's absence can't be a coincidence. Brad's been extra happy since she went missing, and I think something is going on around here." Maurice said to himself. He looked to notice Brad sitting by himself and he was brightly smiling. Maurice's expression changed to suspicion; he had a feeling that he knew what was going on.

Julia sat in her cell by herself. She was thinking; since when did she think she could actually get away with passing herself off as a princess? She knew it wouldn't last; she knew it from that start. Yet, she did it to make her dreams come true. But in the end, it only resulted in her being here. But then, she could hear someone coming and looked out the window to see it was one of the guards. When he looked to see her, he was surprised.

"Princess Julia! What are you doing in here?" The guard asked. "I don't know. Someone came in my room and threw me in here while I was asleep last night." Julia responded. The guard was alarmed, upon hearing that.

"I think I know who it was." he said, and whispered everything to Julia. Once he finished, Julia's eyes nearly went huge. "Really? Could you let me out of here?" Julia asked.

Meanwhile, Julien, Maurice and Brad were by themselves. "Since we haven't been able to find Julia, we'll need to report her as missing." Brad said. Julien looked down sadly, but then they were interrupted. "I wouldn't speak too soon!" Surprised, the three looked to see Julia standing there.

"Julia!" Julien smiled. "Princess!" Maurice smiled, equally as happy. Julia stepped forward and pointed to Brad.

"You had me thrown in the dungeon on purpose!" Julia said. Julien gasped while Maurice looked on in alarm.

"What?" Brad asked, confused. "That's right; I know it's you! You had me thrown in there just because you were solely jealous! The guard down there told me everything; you came into my room and had me thrown into the dungeon!" Julia responded. Julien then walked over to Brad.

"Brad, I think we'll need to keep a close eye on you from now on, no question asked." Julien said. Brad grew furious, and stormed out of the room in an instant. After he was gone, Julien went over to Julia and happily hugged her.

"Julia, I'm so glad you're okay. I was afraid that something could have happened to you." Julien explained. Julia smiled and happily laughed. "Julien, if anyone got to me, they wouldn't know that they were dealing with one tough girl." Julia responded.

Julien smiled at this, but Julia was secretly worried. She knew she was in danger and if she didn't tell Julien the truth soon, someone would find out and let it out before she did.


	7. Discovered

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 7: Discovered**

Later on that day, Julia looked to see that Julien was in his room happily humming to himself. Julia immediately looked away and backed herself against the wall. "If I'm going to break it to Julien, I'll need to do it somewhere we're alone." Julia said to herself. With this, she slowly entered Julien's room.

"Julien?" she asked. Julien turned around to notice Julia and smiled. "Oh hello, Julia! What are you doing here?" he asked, happily. Julia looked down worried; she had to pick her words carefully if she wanted this to go right. Julien noticed this and came over to her.

"Is something wrong, Julia?" he asked, concerned. Julia looked up to see him looking on at her in worry and smiled.

"I'm all right, Julien. But, I was wondering if you would to go for a walk with me." Julia responded. Julien smiled at this, and nodded. Delighted, Julia headed off while Julien followed her from behind. Out in the town, Julien and Julia both stood on a bridge together.

"Wow, this is wonderful. It always makes me happy when we can be by ourselves." Julien smiled. Julia nodded, but she remembered that she had to focus; she had to tell Julien the truth.

"Julien?" she asked. "Yes, Julia?" Julien asked, looking over at her. Julia thought over what to say to herself, and then she looked up at Julien who was looking on at her confused.

"There's something that... I've needed to tell you since I came here. I didn't want to tell you at first, but I decided that I should tell you now." Julia explained. Julien was confused; what could Julia have possibly been keeping from him?

"What is it?" Julien asked. Julia looked down in worry, but she looked up at Julien to see his warm smile; he seemed like he didn't mind what she had to say. So, she sighed and faced him eye to eye.

"Julien... I'm not really a princess. I'm actually a common girl." Julia said, and removed her crown to prove it. Julien gasped, and stared at Julia wordless. He was unable to believe what she had just heard her say; she was telling him the truth of who she really was, which was something she had wanted to say since she arrived.

"Julia... I don't know what to say." Julien said, unable to think of how to react. Julia already was upset; she was sure that Julien was secretly really upset that she had been deceiving him; making him think that she was someone she wasn't.

"I know, Julien. You don't need to say anything. You probable think that I'm an imposter; someone who uses lies to get what they want!" Julia said, suddenly. Julien was caught off guard; he couldn't figure out what Julia was talking about.

"I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to live the dreams that I had since I was a little girl. I always dreamed of being royalty, and I thought I would be able to live that now. But, instead I find myself where I can't tell you until I've gone too far." Julia explained, sadly. Julien was confused; unable to understand why Julia was talking about herself this way.

"Julia..." he was only able to get out before Julia interrupted him. "Don't say it, Julien. I already know. I'm not supposed to be with you, because I just lied to you." Julia said. She placed her crown in Julien's hands and turned around, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Don't come looking for me, Julien, because you'll never find me." Julia said, and she started to run without looking back. Julien looked down at her crown, and looked up again. He was confused and upset; his queen to be had left, and he didn't see it coming.

Sometime later, Julien was back inside his room while he still held Julia's crown in his hands. He was still trying to figure out what had happened when he and Julia were alone. "What was Julia talking about? She said that she thought she was lying, and that she just wanted to live her dreams." Julien said to himself. He looked outside his bedroom window to see the town outside.

"I know Julia's the one, and I'm not about to let her throw the chance to complete her dreams away. I'm going to go find her, regardless of whether she told me to or not." Julien said to himself. With this, he placed Julia's crown on his bed and headed out of his room knowing what he had in mind. He was going to find his queen, regardless of whether she was actually royalty or not.


	8. Rescue

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 8: Rescue**

Julia was back at her place, and she was up in her room sobbing. She lifted her head up to reveal that there were tears streaming from her eyes down her cheeks. "How could I have deceived Julien like this? What made me think that I could get away with it? Now, I'm left out here with my dreams shattered, and I'm sure that Julien hates me for tricking him." Julia sobbed. She felt so devastated; she knew her ruse would never work. As she lay her head down, she looked to notice a familiar shadow and turned around to see it was Brad.

"I see you finally worked it out." Brad said, having just finished climbing up the stairs. "Brad! What are you doing here?" Julia asked, surprised.

"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to come and see how the princess was doing. But I never expected that I would find her here." Brad responded. Julia sighed and turned away.

"Don't worry about it, Brad. I'm not really a princess; I figured everyone would know that by now." Julia said, sadly. Brad looked at Julia for a moment, and smiled. "I already knew that you weren't a princess in advance." Brad explained. Surprised, Julia looked up at him.

"You did?" she asked. "Of course. Why do you think I would have thought an actual princess would impress Prince Julien?" Brad asked in response. Julia was confused; she never actually thought about that herself.

"I don't know. I guess I thought it was because he saw that I was different from the rest." Julia said. Brad happily laughed and shook his head.

"Oh, you never learn, do you? Prince Julien really warmed up to you while you were in your ruse. Do you really think he would still feel the same after learning who you are?" Brad asked. Julia looked down, thinking about that question. She never actually thought about that herself while she spent time with Julien.

"Well, Julien would never turn his back on me. I don't see why he would think that way." Julia responded, uncertain of what she was saying.

"Oh, really? Then, why do you think he isn't trying to find you right now? It's because he knows who you are now." Brad responded. Julia was alarmed; she knew what was going to happen now.

Brad couldn't have been more wrong however; Julien was looking for Julia. He was looking through the entire town to find her. Just then, he could hear a familiar voice screaming for help. "That's Julia!" Julien gasped. He immediately ran to Julia's place and was alarmed to find her cornered by Brad.

"Julia!" Julien called. Julia looked to notice him and smiled. "Julien!" she responded, happily. Brad turned around to notice Julien and scowled.

"Prince Julien." Brad said simply. "Brad? What are you doing here? And, why did you come looking for Julia?" Julien asked, confused. Brad smiled and pulled Julia over by the arm while she was trying to get herself free.

"I think I should explain things. Since I learnt that your bride to be isn't really a princess, I've decided to take her where she needs to be: somewhere she'll never be found!" Brad explained. Julia was pushing against Brad's hand to try and get herself loose. "Let me go, Brad! You won't like me when I'm upset!" Julia warned. Smiling, Brad pulled Julia over to him.

"Oh, really? And what makes you think you'll be able to do something about it? You ended up tricking Prince Julien with your ruse, and look what you've gotten yourself into!" Brad explained, while Julia was still struggling. Julien looked at Julia in worry.

"Julia, did you want to do this to me on purpose?" Julien asked. Julia finally got herself loose from Brad's grasp and ran over to Julien. "Of course not, Julien! I would never do that to anyone I care for. I just wanted to make my dreams of being royalty come true; I had wanted to do this since I was little. And, I wanted to make you happy as well; I felt like someone was accepting me for who I really was, and not because I was pretending to be someone I'm really not." Julia said, and looked down sadly. Julien smiled, and slowly lifted Julia's head up to face him.

"Julia, I always liked you for who you are. I didn't care who you were pretending to be; all that mattered was that you were always just yourself, and I wouldn't want to see you any other way." Julien smiled. Julia started to smile brightly, and tears of joy built up in her eyes.

"Oh, Julien... thank you!" Julia smiled, and happily hugged Julien. Julien smiled, and returned her embrace. Brad was enraged; he found it hard to believe that Julien would actually accept Julia after she flat-out tricked him. "Don't think you'll be able to get away easily, because when the others find out, you'll be separated and never be able to be with each other!" Brad said, menacingly. Julien and Julia both looked on at him in terror, until they could hear a familiar voice from behind them.

"I don't think so." The three looked back to see it was Maurice with the guards. Julien and Julia both smiled, while Brad was shocked. "How did they find out?" Brad asked, confused.

"I told them after Prince Julien left to find Princess Julia. Take this guy away." Maurice said, pointing to Brad. As Julien and Julia watched on as Brad was dragged away, they both smiled. They were happy they weren't going to have to be separated.


	9. Happy Ending

**Hearts and Spades**

**Chapter 9: Happy Ending**

The three of Julien, Julia and Maurice watched on as Brad was dragged out of the kingdom. "Who would have thought that he was actually as good as we thought he was?" Maurice asked. Julia looked down sadly, and started to walk away with her hand slowly tracing out of Julien's. Confused, Julien turned around to face Julia.

"Where are you going?" Julien asked. Julia looked back over her shoulder without turning around. "I'm sorry, Julien. I didn't want it to end like this, but it looks like I have to leave you." Julia responded, and started to walk away. Julien watched on for a few seconds, before Maurice got his attention.

"You said it yourself; you like her for who she is. Are you really going to let Julia throw her dreams away?" Maurice asked. Julien sighed and looked away briefly. "I don't know, Maurice. We're both different now; could it ever match up?" Julien asked. Maurice shook his head and looked over at Julien.

"Maybe, but you took the chance to spend time with her, and she's the one you're supposed to be with. You wanted to be with someone you would truly love, and I think Julia is who you need." Maurice explained. Julien looked up and smiled; he knew Maurice was right. With this, he immediately followed Julia and grabbed her hand. Confused, Julia turned around to see him.

"Julia, will you do me the honour of being my queen?" Julien asked. Julia was surprised, and looked at him. "But, Julien, I'm not of any royalty. I can't be with you." Julia said, wondering why he didn't get it. Julien just happily laughed and shook his head; he wasn't letting that bother him anymore.

"I don't care about that. Julia, you're the only one who's made me feel truly happy. That's because you were always yourself, instead of being someone you're really not. I knew you were the one, regardless of whether you were royalty or not. So, will you do me this honour?" Julien asked. Julia smiled; he didn't care that she wasn't royalty. All he wanted to do was give her the chance to be happy; he accepted her for who she was. With this, she smiled and happily kissed him, to his surprise. When Julia let go, Julien could see there were tears of happiness in her eyes.

"Yes I will, Julien." Julia smiled. Julien was happy to hear this; he was doing this for her. Maurice could see what was happening and smiled, happily came over to them and the two looked to see them.

"Well, Julia, as our new queen, what would your first order of business be?" Maurice asked. Julia had a bit of thought to herself, and smiled.

"That would have to be our right hand man and from what I've seen, I'll have to go with you, Maurice." Julia said. Maurice was delighted and so was Julien; he was happy that his long time friend was now going to be their right hand man. "I'll let you know whenever we need help." Julia said.

"I'll keep that in mind." Maurice responded. Julien and Julia both looked at each other, and they happily kissed; they were finally going to be with each other, now and forever.


End file.
